


I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

by FrostOverlord



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Best Friends, Bunny is bad at Feelings, Bunny's not used to good things happening to him, Gen, Guessing game, M/M, Talking about your feelings is awkward, Tooth gives solid advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-12
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 02:39:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2293871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostOverlord/pseuds/FrostOverlord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack goes to Tooth for some advice, but can't actually bring himself to say anything.</p><p>Thankfully, Tooth knows just what to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Guessing Game

If Toothiana were to say she was surprised by a visit from Jack Frost in early January she’d be lying through her shiny fairy teeth. In the decades since he’d become a guardian Jack had (unofficially of course) made her his confidant, telling her of his worries, dreams, even secret parts of his persona that he’d never before shared with anyone (It was one such secret, revealed early in their friendship, that firmly ground Tooth’s initial crush on him to a halt. It’s somewhat difficult to court someone when you remind them of their mother, and Tooth found that she couldn’t complain about the change in relationship). She’d always enjoyed their talks, and they were never planned. The time between each visit fluctuating to the point that she had begun to keep the sitting room prepared for a visit from him at all times. So no, for him to visit her at a time of year when he’d normally be working(that is to say, playing) was not surprising for the Tooth Fairy, even if she told him so when he landed on the steps of the Tooth Palace.

He, of course, gave her a look that made it clear he didn’t believe a word of it.

No, it wasn’t Jack’s sudden appearance at Punjam Hy Loo that surprised Tooth, rather it was what he said as they sat down in her sitting room with two freshly made cups of tea.

“Tooth, you’re, like, my best friend, right?”

“Yes?” Tooth raised an eyebrow, frowning in confusion and wondering where this line of questioning would lead. She quickly tacked on a joke, hoping to lighten the mood a bit, “Although lately I was under the impression that Bunny was finally taking his ‘rightful place’ in that role.”

Jack averted his gaze, ignoring the question in her eyes as he continued, “And you wouldn’t judge me no matter what I told you, right?”

“Not without listening to the whole story first, no,” Tooth set down her cup and placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder, causing him to stiffen, “What’s wrong, Jack? You should know you can always tell me what’s on your mind.”

The boy hesitated, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze before pulling up his hood in embarrassment and muttering something under his breath.

“I’m sorry?”

“…I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

Tooth cocked her head to the side at the hesitant joke, puzzling over the words. “Jack I’m not sure what you-” and then it hit her like a sudden, giddy blizzard, “oh… _oh_.” She giggled, pulling the boy into a swift hug before pulling away entirely. “So who’s the lucky girl? Or maybe guy?”

Jack, of course, just buried his head deeper in the cloth of his hoodie.

Tooth frowned, before a brilliant idea came to mind, “Alright, how about a game then?” Jack peeked out from under his hood as she continued, “Twenty questions!”

“Twenty Questions? _Really_?” No longer hiding under his hood, Jack’s voice was incredulous and his face the very picture of annoyance.

“Yes! It’ll be _fun_.”

Without waiting for Jack to respond, Tooth shot out of her chair and began to pace, “Is it a spirit?”

Jack shot her an exasperated glare before, very slowly, nodding. Tooth smiled, _score one for the queen!_

“Is it someone I know?”

Another tentative nod.

“Hrm… Are they associated with a season?”

Jack frowned, moving his hand in a so-so gesture, “Kinda.”

“What do you mean, kind of?”

For the first time since their talk began, Jack smiled. “Yes or no questions only, Tooth. Don’t you know how twenty questions works?” Toothiana laughed into her hand in response before returning to her thoughts. What questions to ask? Tooth knew a lot of spirits, and any number could be attached to a season in some way or another. Clicking her tongue, Tooth whirled around to face Jack, startling him off his perch on the arm of his chair.

“Have you known them for a long time?”

“Yes.” A good chunk of spirits removed from the equation.

“Before you were a guardian?”

“Yeah.” Suddenly the pool of potential Jack Frost love interests is even smaller.

“Are they shorter than you?”

A frown and thumbs down.

“Okay, so bigger than you. Intimidating?”

“When he wants to be.”

The beginnings of a smile graced Tooth’s features before she shoved it down _._ Jack clearly didn’t realize that he’d just told her the sex of his crush. _Only slightly helpful, though._ Tooth frowned again, thinking, “Do you two talk a lot?”

“We do now, yeah.”

Okay, so it was someone that Jack recently started talking to a lot after having known them for a long time. Tooth crossed her arms and frowned, running over the information she had so far collected. Then something in her mind clicked into place and her frown turned to a sly smile, causing Jack to shift uncomfortably. “I think I may be able to figure this out without all twenty of those questions,” she mused, lifting one arm to gesture into the air while leaving the other resting against her midriff, “Next question: Is he a Native American spirit?” Jack was friends, or at least acquainted, with almost all of the spirits in that particular group as far as Tooth was aware, and had known them long before he’d been a Guardian. She needed to remove them from the table if she wanted to confirm her theory.

Jack smirked, probably thinking that she was hoping for a yes, and made a show of thinking the question over before finally answering with a “Nope, sorry.”

His smirk faltered when he realized that Tooth’s smile had only brightened more.

“Is he a human spirit?”

Jack shook his head, face slowly paling beyond its usual ghostly pallor before he turned he faced away from her and brightening into a pale pink, “No.”

“Humanoid?”

He scrunched his face for a moment before humming the affirmative.

“Does he have a tail?”

He swallowed and nodded, suddenly appearing nervous.

“Would I be out of line to assume he’s got fur as well?”

He shifted in place. “You wouldn’t.”

Tooth chuckled, “Don’t suppose he’s a shapeshifter of some kind, is he?”

Jack gave her a somewhat confused look, before answering with an equally confused, “I’m not sure? I mean, I guess he could be, but I don’t know.”

Huh, that’s interesting. Though at this point Tooth was almost 100% certain she knew who Jack was crushing on, and to be perfectly honest it made complete sense. The two were practically made for each other, so entirely different from one another and yet still the same underneath it all. She only hoped for Jack’s sake that the object of his affections would return them.

Oh who was she kidding, said person acted like a complete fool when he was around Jack. Now that Tooth had reason to suspect the two, the evidence was pretty damning- why was Jack giving her that look?

Oh. Right. Guessing game.

“Is he strongly associated with a particular day of the year?”

“Y-yeah?”

Tooth smiled and placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder, using her other hand to keep his eyes on her. “Do you fight with him a lot?”

A nod.

“And whenever those fights escalate past the point of being playful, do you both sulk for days on end until someone else forces the both of you to apologize to each other?”

Another nod.

“And is he the kind of person that will complain about you constantly, but is always the first person to jump to your side when you need help?”

Jack swallowed again, before pulling away and muttering a shaky “yes.”

Tooth did not relent in her questions, sitting down in her chair before continuing. “And is he someone who will comfort you in silence when everything gets to be a bit too much?”

“Y-yeah.”

“And is he the kind of person that hides himself behind a mask of hate and annoyance because of how afraid he is of getting hurt? Because he’s afraid of getting attached to someone?”

Jack jumped, turning towards Tooth with a questioning look. She turned her bittersweet smile towards him, her words more a declaration of little-known fact than a question for her young friend to answer. He furrowed his brow as he tried to comprehend what he’d just been told, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Tooth moved on.

“You’re in love with Bunnymund, aren’t you Jack?”

Immediately the sprite’s cheeks turned bright red, then purple as frost spread over Jack’s face and obscured the color from view. “wha- no I- it’s just,” Jack struggled to get the words out, babbling nonsense for a solid minute before finally settling on, “It’s just a crush okay?”

Tooth laughed, grabbing Jack’s hand and pulling him to his feet. “Jack, how long have you been in lo- had a crush on Bunny?”

Jack’s blush deepened even further as he pulled his hood back up to hide in. Finally, he mumbled an answer. Tooth frowned, jabbing him in the side with her free hand. “Speak up, Jack. Auntie Tooth can’t help you if you don’t tell her everything.”

Jack mumbled again, louder this time but still unintelligible.

“Still can’t hear you, Sweet Tooth.”

He swallowed, gathering his courage, before mumbling again. This time, however, Tooth caught the “sixty-seven” at the end of his statement. She backed away a bit, eyes wide with surprise. “That long?” she asked quietly, already drawing conclusions about the events the year after.

Jack nodded, eyes hidden beneath his hood.

“So the blizzard of ’68… you were trying to get his attention, weren’t you?”

Another nod.

“When did you realize you were in love with him?” Tooth asked, placing a hand over Jack’s mouth when he began to object, “Don’t even try and convince me it’s just a crush. Crushes don’t last for over a century.”

Jack pouted, pulling away from Tooth and walking off to the other side of the living chamber. “I… I wasn’t really sure for a while what it was,” he finally stated, carefully measuring out his words. Tooth could feel the memory being pulled at as he recounted, “but then a few days ago I saw this guy watching a girl that was skating on my lake. He was hiding something behind his back and I was curious ‘cause he was acting kinda like how I do around Bunny.” Jack turned, pulling his hood down and then gesturing with his free hand as he continued his story, the other hand gripping his staff tightly. “When the girl finally got off the ice he walked up to her and gave her this thing; I think it was a snow globe or something. Then they talked for a bit until he asked her if she’d go on a date with him.” Jack swallowed hard, a smile pulling at the edges of his mouth. “When she said yes this wave of pure Joy hit me like a truck, and that’s when I realized how I’d been acting around Bunny was just like that guy who wanted to go out with that girl. Without the, you know, gift giving. Or talking.”

Tooth sighed, observing Jack carefully as he stared down at his bare feet and kicked absently at the ground. As he’d gained more believers he’d grown into his body, looking less like the scrawny fourteen year old he’d been when he’d become a spirit and more like the strong, adult big brother that the kids seemed to believe him to be, and yet now he stood before her looking just as small and fragile as he had back when they’d first met. Like the lightest breeze would shatter him permanently. She knew better than that of course; Jack may have still acted like a child but his heart was strong and his mind sharp, his centuries of solitude having tempered his center with a strength that few could ever hope to match. It broke her heart to see him like this, confused and scared of his own emotions, utterly helpless in the face of dealing with his feelings for another being.

And wasn’t that the saddest thing Tooth had ever bore witness to? Jack, one of the most intelligent, introspective people she’d ever met couldn’t understand his own feelings. Sure his centuries of solitude had strengthened him, given him a kind of worldly knowledge that the other Guardians hadn’t expected from their youngest member, but all the philosophical prowess in the world couldn’t possibly allow him to really understand the social situations and emotions he’d never had to deal with. In many ways, he was still a child. Tooth heaved another sigh and walked over to Jack, pulling him into a hug so suddenly that he stiffened completely. “I think this is wonderful, Jack.”

After nearly a minute, Jack finally relaxed and silently returned the embrace. They stood like that for a while, neither talking as they both took inventory on their thoughts. It was Jack that finally broke the silence with a hesitant question.

“What do I do, Tooth?”

“Oh Jack,” Tooth cooed, pulling away from the hug just enough to look the young man in the eyes, “There’s really only one thing you _can_ do: Tell Bunny how you feel.”

Jack immediately became hysterical and pulled away completely, “But what if he doesn’t feel the same? What if it ruins our friendship?”

“Sweet Tooth.”

“I mean, He’s a giant rabbit and I’m- he probably doesn’t want someone like me!”

“Jack.”

“I’m- I’m just an irresponsible prankster and he’s all serious and-“

“ _Jack._ ”

“What if I tell him and he hates me for it?! He’ll never talk to me agai-“

“ _Jackson Overland Frost!_ ”

The room fell deadly quiet as Tooth glared down at Jack, hovering with her arms crossed and chin up. Suddenly she wasn’t the sweet, excitable Tooth Fairy anymore, she was Queen Toothiana, the last Sister of Flight. Jack twitched nervously, shrinking under her scrutinizing gaze.

“Sit,” she commanded.

He obeyed.

“Jack Frost,” Tooth began, gaze softening ever so slightly, “You are a wonderful young man. You are intelligent, strong, brave, and far wiser than many of the spirits I know. You spent the centuries following your ‘birth’ completely alone except for the Wind and, occasionally, some of the Native American spirits, and yet your kindness still defies the harshness of your season. Yes, you _can_ be reckless, but that is a part of who you are and you’ve never once failed to take responsibility for your actions. We are _all_ lucky to have you as a friend, and I imagine that anyone would be honored for you to consider them as something more. I know for a fact that I would. The only way for you to know how someone will react is to ask them.” Tooth lowered her arms and reached for her tea, satisfied that Jack had been sufficiently chastised, “As for you and Bunny being physically different,” she added as she took a sip of her now cooled tea, “Bunnymund is a shapeshifter, so if he decides to not return your feelings on the basis of physical form I’ll personally skin him alive for being a hypocrite.”

The final comment drew out a snort of amusement from Jack, though the look he was giving Tooth was a cross between awe and horror. The two sat silently for a while, each occasionally sipping tea and enjoying the relative silence to gather their thoughts. After several minutes of this Jack spoke again, gripping his staff tight enough to pale his knuckles even further than normal.

“Okay, so there’s still one issue you haven’t addressed.”

Tooth smiled, watching Jack from over her teacup, “And this issue would be?”

“What if he’s not into guys?”

Tooth stared blankly at Jack for a moment, processing what he was saying, before breaking into laughter, nearly spilling what little remained of her tea as she placed the cup back on the table before them. Jack glared at her, tapping his foot impatiently while she struggled to gain control of herself.

“Okay Tooth, mind sharing the joke?”

Tooth leaned against the back of her chair, still laughing as she tried to form her response, “Tha- That’s honestly- pffff-“

It took another minute of Tooth laughing and Jack glaring at her before the she was able to form a proper sentence. “Jack, that’s honestly the least of your concerns. In fact, totally nonexistent with Bunny.”

“Why’s that?”

Wiping a tear from her eye, Tooth smiled widely at the winter sprite, “Because Bunny is a Pooka,” she stated, as if that one word would explain everything.

Jack looked at Tooth incredulously, “Okay, gonna have to explain that one. No idea what his species has to do with liking guys or not.”

Frowning, Tooth folded her hands together, “I’m probably missing a few key details,” she stated, taking on the distant tone she often used when reciting information from memory, “but I do know that the Pooka were a race of shape shifters whose natural forms and habits are very similar to rabbits here on earth. While individuals would be born and identify as male or female, the fact that they were shape shifters meant that everyone could change their sex at the drop of a hat. Having males and females be separate for the purpose of reproduction was impractical for their species, so they evolved so that everyone was equipped for whatever role they decided to take on. For example, a Pooka could be a male externally, but he’d still have the 'internal pipework' to support children if his mate was unwilling or unable to do so. I imagine it wasn’t uncommon for both members of a mated couple to have carried kits by the end of their lives.”

Jack stared at Tooth blankly, absorbing the information.

“Basically, he won’t care if you’re male or female. If he likes you he likes you. Besides, you’re spirits, so for the most part no one cares about that sort of thing anyway.”

Jack nodded, his smile slowly returning. “Totally going to ask Bunny if he’s ever been a girl later.”

Tooth laughed, picking herself up out of the chair and checking the time, “Your funeral, Sweet Tooth.” She smiled and made her way to the door, stopping in the entryway, “It was nice talking to you Jack, but it’s about time that I got back to work. I’ll leave you with one last bit of advice before I go, though.”

Jack stood, balancing his staff on his shoulder. He suddenly seemed more… confident. Determined. “And that would be?”

“Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, it’d be the perfect time to tell him how you feel.”

Suddenly Jack flushed again, the frost on his face making the blush take on a purple tint. “Thanks, Tooth. For everything.”

“No problem sweetie. Want me to send Baby Tooth down to chat?”

“Naw, I’ll talk to her on my way out. I need to make sure Cottontail isn’t overworking himself again.”

Toothianna nodded and turned away, “I’ll see you later then, Jack. Good luck.”

A cheerful cry of “thanks” was returned as she made her way back to her post. Whatever would end up happening in the future, Tooth knew that Jack and Bunny would manage just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CAN'T SLEEP HERE'S A THING FOR YOU GUYS.
> 
> Have fun, might continue it later. :3


	2. Too Much to Hope For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack follows through on the advice Tooth Gave him.

Aster paced about the warren, ears and whiskers twitching in annoyance as he tried to make sense of Jack’s latest prank. No matter how much he hadn’t wanted to admit it at first, the larrikin never seemed to play pranks without a reason. Normally there was some message attached to each of them that he couldn’t find the words to say directly, as if pranks were just a way for the spirit to communicate. Even then Jack didn’t prank the other guardians very often anymore, he’d gotten better at sharing his opinions at their monthly meetings. Hell, Aster could remember each prank on him off the top of his head, and had managed to make sense of each and every message now that he knew to look for them.

The blizzard of ’68? ‘ _Please, notice me.’_ (It worked so well that the blighter didn’t regret it for a moment.)

Jumping out of the sleigh at the start of the Pitch Black incident? _‘Don’t worry so much_ ’ with a desperate side of ‘ _acknowledge me, I’m not invisible._ ’

Just after the Easter of ’12, Jack managed to let a bunch of ankle-biters into the warren. ‘ _You need to update your wards_.’ (’Course, when Aster complained about that prank to the others at the then-newly established meetings, he didn’t mention that all but a few of the sprogs in question didn’t believe in the Easter Bunny until just after he found them.

‘ _I want to help you._ ’)

About a decade after that Jack had taken to frosting a couple of egg plants after the fields had been considered finished every few years- usually just before a particularly harsh winter, and always during the beginning of Aster’s off-season. His way of saying ‘ _I think you should plant a few more of these this year._ ’

And then couple years back during some particularly stressful Easter preparations Aster had woken up to find that the river of dye was frozen over and all his painting supplies had been nicked and replaced with fruit and pillows. He’d fumed for quite a while about that, but was too tired to actually leave the Warren to go looking for the culprit. ‘ _Take better care of yourself_ ’

(The next day everything was back to normal, and Aster found out that Jack had also taken around 100 eggs with him to hand paint so that Aster wouldn’t get too far behind in his preparations. Kid was a pretty good artist- not that Aster would ever tell him that.

‘ _I’m here if you need me._ ’)

But this specific prank? Aster had no clue what to make of it. The days after he’d announced the start of his Easter preparations had been full of small pranks, likely ‘friendly’ reminders to take care of himself judging by the closet full of shampoo and the fact that the entire northern hemisphere on his personal Globe of Belief had been covered with frost, but this? Aster had walked into his burrow after an absolutely exhausting day to find that everything had been _cleaned_ and a salad had been prepared. For the _third time in a week_. The only hint Aster had as to the identity of the culprit was the almost imperceptible scent of snow and pine left behind on a bowl that was far too cold for having been left out all day.

If Frost’s intent had been to leave Aster speechless he’d succeeded, because the pooka had no idea what to make of it. Aster had initially assumed that it was Jack saying he wants to help (again)… but the same thing three times? If he didn’t know any better Aster would assume… no, that couldn’t be it, Jack wasn’t a pooka. The behavior closely resembled several Pookan courting traditions, but that surely couldn’t be what Jack was doing. (He couldn’t be saying _‘I love you.’_ )

Right?

Right, there’s no way he could possibly know about those traditions, and Aster resolutely refused to admit his disappointment in that fact to himself. Because it was clearly a fact: he’d never told anyone about those traditions as far as he could remember. He hadn’t even shared that information with Ombric, despite the man’s incessant poking for knowledge when the two spoke. The only people that could possibly know where Sandy and MiM. Even then MiM was just a sprog during the golden age, and Sandy had been a shooting star pilot, reducing the chances of either even being aware that pooka _had_ courting traditions, let alone what they were. In short, neither was likely to share that information with Jack.

It didn’t sit right with him that he couldn’t figure out the message Jack was trying to get across, but for now Aster shoved the matter to the side and returned to painting his eggs. He could always ask Jack directly if he ended up not being able to figure it out. Which was nice, really. For so long they’d been somewhat antagonistic towards one another, but in the recent years things had changed. Probably had something to do with Aster finally clueing in to the fact that Jack’s pranks were just a way for the spirit to communicate. No other reason that he could think of.

Or, at least, wanted to think of. The longer he could avoid examining his recent behavior around the young man, the better. If he examined things, he’d start hoping, and once _he_ started hoping, he would never stop. That hope would remain lodged within him for the rest of eternity, right next to the hope that his people had somehow survived. It was a path that led to endless heartache and depression that he didn’t want to deal with.

“Hey there Fluffy, what’s shakin’?”

An out of place streak of blue appeared on the face of Aster’s current egg as he flinched in surprise. How had Jack snuck up on him? For that matter, how did he keep getting into the Warren without Aster noticing right away? Behind him, Jack stifled a chuckle- which Aster still heard, but points for trying- and shifted about noisily. Aster sighed and placed the egg he’d been working on down in the grass, whispering a promise to return to it later before turning and glaring at Jack. “Well,” he said to the smirking Winter Spirit, his voice painted with ire, “I _was_ working, but clearly you have other plans.”

Jack, however, didn’t respond immediately, instead eyeing the two- or three-dozen eggs Aster had finished since he last picked up his brush not ten minutes ago. Aster was about to ask what he needed when the spirit spoke up on his own. “Doing a winter theme this year or something?”

What? The pooka carefully reigned in his reaction, somehow not allowing himself to give Jack a confused look, and looked over to the eggs he’d painted. Sure enough, all of them were dressed in blues, whites, and the very occasional brown. His ears twitched slightly, remaining up only due to Aster’s self-control, as he realized that he’d been painting in Jack colors. Apparently he couldn’t put off the soul-searching much longer if his work was being effected. At least none of them actually depicted Jack himself. “Decided I’d do a seasonal theme with some of the eggs this year,” he fibbed, masking his embarrassment with annoyance at having to explain, “Figured I’d start with winter, work my way back.” Not the worst idea, in retrospect. He’d have to follow through on that.

Jack gave him a look that he couldn’t quite decipher, though Aster suspected that his lie had only barely held, before shrugging and returning his full attention back to the pooka sitting in the grass before him. There was a smirk on his face, and Aster knew from the look in the young man’s eye that he was up to something. Jack sauntered- _sauntered_ \- forward a bit and dropped down next to Aster, balancing on his toes as he looked at the brush in Aster’s hand.

“Is that the only brush you have or something? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you use a different one.”

Aster leveled a suspicious glare at him before glancing down at the object in question, holding it up and out of his shadow to get a better look at it. Now that he thought about it, it was in fact his last brush, and looked like it was nearing the end of its usefulness. He’d need to find new ones soon. “Aye,” he replied, glancing back over at Jack, “Why does it matter to you?”

Jack smirked, “No reason.” He said simply, looking out into the Warren and away from Aster. Aster raised his brow slightly and followed the kid’s gaze.

And suddenly his hand was empty.

“Oi!” Aster turned to reprimand Jack, but the winter spirit had already backed out of reach, holding the brush in one hand and examining it. He frowned, likely because it was shaped oddly compared to human paintbrushes, but then with a glance up at Aster the frown transmuted into a full blown grin.

There was a snapping noise, and Jack’s expression seemed to freeze in place before his and Aster’s eyes both zoned in on the now broken brush.

Aster stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend what had happened, and Jack made a guttural noise in the back of his throat, before chuckling nervously and backing away. When he spoke, his voice was strained, “Well, uh, I think I should probably go now. Later cottontail!”

And with that Jack was off, the remains of the paintbrush falling into the grass where he had been standing. It took Aster yet another moment before his mind finally caught up with events, but the instant it did he roared out Jacks name and gave chase. That was his last brush! _His last brush_. Did the idiot realize how long it took for Aster to get brushes? Human brushes wouldn’t cut it, wrong shape for his hands and far too fragile to last through the Easter preparations, he had to make all his brushes by hand. Not to mention adding the enchantment that allowed the thing to paint whatever color he needed. Having to make a new brush _now_ would put him weeks behind schedule! Ahead of him, Jack glanced back at the very clearly, and understandably, _pissed off_ Easter Bunny, and had the _gall_ to stick his tongue out at him!

Aster roared out curses in response, pushing himself to move a bit faster, but Jack somehow managed to stay in front of him, just out of pouncing range. Of all the things the stupid, no good- Aster roared out another curse and jumped over a fence. He was going to catch Jack and- but first he had to _catch Jack_ , and that was slowly proving to be an issue. Aster would have thought that he’d be able to catch Jack without issue in his own Warren, but Jack seemed to know exactly where he was going, taking a somewhat confusing path through trees and tunnels and over shallow bits of water. He never seemed to go towards the tunnels to the outside world, and that, to Aster, was a challenge. Jack wasn’t trying to escape the Warren, instead was flying about _mocking_ its master.

That just wouldn’t fly, not in Aster’s _home_ of all places. He continued to chase after the Winter Spirit, dodging trees, bouncing off walls and leaping over rocks, not really caring where in the Warren he actually was. Then he saw his opportunity. Jack had slowed ever-so-slightly at a small clearing in the trees just ahead, as if trying to figure out which way to go. The change in pacing cost him, and Jack found himself pinned to the ground underneath a grinning Easter Bunny.

“Gotcha.” Aster huffed through heavy breaths. That’ll show the kid to try racing a pooka in his own home. Now, why had he been chasing Jack down again? Aster blinked, and his grin slowly faded as he tried to remember the reason for their impromptu race.

Below him, Jack was smiling, though it was somewhat subdued. He was nervous, it seemed, and Aster could feel an undercurrent of hope beneath the smile, “That you did, Bunny,” he said, drawing Aster’s attention with the odd tone, “But before you throttle me, how about looking up?”

What? Why would he- oh. Right. The brush. Aster shook his head, his initial anger over the situation held at bay for the moment as he followed the request and glanced up. His eyes locked on a small table of ice, holding on top of it what appeared to be a wooden box. When had that gotten there? Aster released Jack from his hold, slowly standing up to approach the box. It was beautiful, intricate carvings decorated the top and sides in delicate ovular whorls, occasionally petering out into the shape of the markings on his body. The box looked to be a solid block of cherry wood that had been given a coat of varnish, but when Aster reached down to pick it up he was surprised to find that it actually opened. The grain had been lined up perfectly, making the outside appear to be a solid, uncut surface save the decoration, and only now did he notice the small bumps on the back that denoted hinges.

It was the contents of the box, however, that truly caught Aster’s attention. The cedar-lined inside of the box was an artist’s treasure trove. There were brushes of all types and sizes, pencils, erasers, and even sticks of chalk and charcoal tucked away in their own, smaller, walnut boxes. Impressive though it was, however, his attention was captured by the paint brushes. They weren’t shaped for human hands, but rather perfectly matched to the shape of his own. They looked to be made of some form of rosewood, somehow stained into a veritable rainbow of colors in such a way that it looked almost natural. Aster held one of the brushes carefully in his hand as he slowly turned to face Jack, who by now was sitting up in the grass and gazing off to the side.

“Jack, what is this?”

Jack let out a strained laugh, “It’s a gift, ‘roo. What else would it be?”

“Did you make all this?” His voice was strained, Aster’s careful control over his emotions having already been tossed out the proverbial window when he had chased after Jack. His throat felt like it was burning, and his eyes weren’t fairing much better. He hadn’t been given such a thoughtful gift in… ever, really. In that instant a seed of hope sprouted in him, and he knew everything was over.

Jack simply nodded, his face slowly tinting itself a reddish-purple hue. “I got some help from North once it was done though. They’re enchanted so that they won’t break or wear down or anything. The brushes, I mean.”

“How did you- the handles, mate, they're shaped...” Aster's words, however, were beginning to fail him.

Jack chuckled again, “I’ve got my ways. Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

Aster swallowed. “Jack I- I’m not sure-” Aster couldn’t find the words he wanted, still lost in a haze of confusion, and so settled upon simply asking, “Why?”

Jack shifted uncomfortably, then looked up at him, and Aster was struck by the look in his eyes, the Hope exuding from his very being. “Well,” Jack began, standing up and clutching his staff like a life-line, “I, uh,” He frowned, as if trying to come up with the words he wanted, before sighing and looking away again, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Bunny.”

Valentine’s… Aster’s eyes widened and he looked back at the box, then the brush still in his hand, and finally the frost-obscured red tint decorating Jack’s face. His hearts leapt in his chest as the possibility unfolded before him. It- it _couldn’t_ be possible, could it? It was going to turn out to be some cruel joke, or Aster just misunderstanding or- It couldn’t be real, and if it was it would just end badly because that’s how everything always ended for Aster. It was simply too much to hope for. There was no way that Jack meant it that way and Aster would just end up hurting if he-

Fortunately, Aster’s mind didn’t have any more time to pick apart the desperate hope blooming within his hearts, because his body decided that he was taking too long to decide what to do and made the decision for him. Suddenly he and Jack were both on the ground, the brush Aster had been holding tossed aside in favor of holding Jack’s face to his own. His thoughts were drowned out by the sensation of that single, passionate kiss, the chill of Jack against the skin beneath his fur, the almost musky scent of pine and snow, the taste as-

Then his mind took control again, and Aster quickly pulled away. A panicked apology was already on his lips when Jack spoke.

“I guess that means you like your present?”

The words caught in Aster’s throat when he realized that Jack was _smiling_ like the smug bastard he was. Jack wasn’t recoiling in disgust, or looking at him with anger in his eyes. No, he was smiling and looking like that cat that got the cream. An arm wrapped around Aster’s waist and pulled him back down, close enough that Jack was able to plant a chaste kiss upon his nose before rolling them both on their sides. Aster choked on the air, staring at Jack like he had suddenly grown an extra head. He couldn’t help the words falling out of his mouth anymore, too caught up in his surprise and hope to register what he was saying as he tried to pull away.

“Your not- I just _assaulted_ you, you should be _angry_ at me or- You’re not supposed to lay there smiling like an idiot!”

Jack have him an incredulous look, but his smile remained in place. “Really, Cottontail? What, do you think my response was a fluke or something?”

Aster nodded dumbly, no longer able to hide his absolute confusion over the situation.

Jack just laughed and gently punched the pooka’s shoulder, “If you’re so sure about that, why don’t you try again and see if my reaction changes?”

Apparently Jack wasn’t expecting him to actually follow that advice, judging by the squeak of surprise, but when Aster pulled away from the second, desperate kiss the smile had only widened. Finally, after all it had been trying to convince him that he was wrong, Aster’s mind quieted its objections to the reality of the situation. This _was_ real. Jack _was_ here, giving him a valentine’s present and smiling when he kissed him and-

It was the first time in forever that Aster’s hopes had been realized, who could blame him if he cried?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the conclusion to this lovely two part fic. It's actually one of the few that I'd had mostly finished, and I spent all day putting on the finishing touches because why not?
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed it. :3


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